Tool for cutting and removing pipe from wells



A ril 19 1927.

p J. B. REILLY ET AL.

TOOL FOR CUTTING AND REMOVING PIPE FROM WELLS Original Filed July 19. 1923 Patented Apr. 1e, 1927.

UNITED STATES.

PATENT OFFICE. y

JOHN IB. REILLY, F WHITTIER, AND CHARLES H. STONE, 0F BREL, CALIFORNIA, AB-

SIGNOBS TO KAMMERER CORPORATION, OE SANTA FE SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, A

(JOBPOIBATION' OF CALIFORNIA.

TOOL FOB.4 CUTTING AND BEMQVING PIPE FROM WELLS.

original application led .Tuly 19, 1923, Serial N'o. 652,511. Divided and this' application led January 20, 1925. Serial No. 3,642.

This invention relates to that type of tool employed in the well drilling art for cutting pipe in the well, and it can also be used for removal of the cut-oit' scections of the pipe. .Such a tool is in frequent demand for cutting the drill pipe or stem when it or the bit becomes stuck in the hole.

The invention is Van improvement river that disclosed in United States Letters Patent 1o No. 1,277,600, issued to George Kammer-er, September 3rd, 1918. This application is a division of our copendi'ng application liled July 19, 1923,jb`erial Number 652,511, which was a continuation as to common subject matter of' our earlier application Serial No.

584,277 filed August 25, 1922. v

, An important object of the invention is to simplify the tool, reducing the number of working parts so as to make it less liable to get out of order in use.

Another important object is to mount the cutter blades in a manner to 'permit of the tool being inserted in a casing of small diameter relative to the diameter of the pipe to be cut within the casing. t

Another object is to provide for holding of the cutter blade-actuating member in retracted position and for release thereof by upward motion of the tool body.

Another object is to make provision for semi-automatic feeding of the cutter blade to the pipe or stem being cut.

Another Objectis to provide for cutting of the pipe at any desired point without the necessity of co-acting between the tool and the pipe collar or tool joint.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention: y

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a tool embodying the invention, a fragment of the member for rotating it and a fragment of the pipe being operated upon also being shown. The parts are in the positions they occupy when the tool is being lowered into the well.

Figs. 2 and 3 are enlarged plan sections on the lines indicated by 2 2, 3 3, respectively, Fig. 1. In Fig. 3 the cutter blades are in pipe-cutting position. Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmental vertical section on the line indicated by 4 4, Fig. 1, the ipe being omitted.

Tliere is provided any desired number of tion, as in Fig. 3.

cutter blades 11 movably mounted in longitudinally extending slots 12 in a tubular 55 body 13. .In this instance the cutter blades 11 are o:cillat1vely mounted in the slots 12, being pivoted at 14 to the body 13. The tubular. body.13 is adapted to be lowered over thc pipe or drill s tem that is to be cut. Such 6o pipe will be maintained substantially conf centricof the body 13, while the cutting operation is progressing, because of the provision of 11,-plurality of the cutter blades 11, there being, m this instance, three such blades arranged equi-distantly around the body. The cutter blades 11 preferably extend upwardly from their pivots 14 so that, even though the cutter were to swinginwardlyv into engagement with the pipe over which the tool is being lowered, said cutter blades will not catch, as the tool is lowered, upon any shoulders or other projections that may be on the pipe. The cutter blades would tend to drag over the pipe couplings during downward motion of the tool and be Adeflected outwardly and upwardly.

To positively force the cutter blades inwardly into engagement with the drill pipe that is to be cut, there are provided cutter 8o blade-actuating means comprising, in this instance, a blade-engaging ,member 15. Though said blade-engaging member maybe of any suitable shape, we prefer to make it annular as shown. When the member' 15 is 85 held stationary, the member 13 is raised, said member 15 engages the upper ends of the cutter blades 11 and turns said blades inwardly and downwardly to the cutting posi- Preferably the lower end of the member 15 is provided with slots 16, the outer walls of which are beveled inwardly and upwardly. These slots register with the blades 11 and the beveled walls function as cam 95 faces for engaging the cutter blades. Preferablythe upper ends of the cutter blades are beveled complemeutarily to the beveled walls of the Slots 16 so that the blades will ride smoothly on the side beveled walls.

The upper portion of the tubularbody 13 is of enlarged internal diameter, as indicated at 17, and within. this enlarged portion is mounted a bearing comprising upper and lower tubular ball-race members 18, 19 and 105 balls 20 between them so as to constitute an v13 is screwed as indicated at 25.

In the drawings the body 13 is formed, in part, by a shoe 26 which is internally beveled outwardly and downwardly at its lower end at 27 so that, if the shoe strikes an obstruction while it is descending, it will cut the obstruction away.

The member 15 is temporarily secured to the body 13, while the tool is being lowered over the drill pipe into the well, so as to prevent rotative movement between tlie cutter blades and the cutter blade-engaging member 15, thus avoiding actuation of the blades. In this instance the rotative motion is prevented by a shearing pin or pins 28 connect ing the bod 13-to the member 15. y

The mem er 15 is prevented from turning relative to the body 13 by spline 151 xed in said body and projecting-into a spline-way 152 in the outer face of the member 15. To limit upward motion of the member 15, after shearing of the pins 28 as will be made clear hereinafter, the body 13 is provided with screws 153 projecting into slots 154 in the member 15, said slots terminatingA at their lower ends above the lower end oij the member 15.

To limit downward motion of the member 15, after shearing of the pins 28, the body 13 is provided with an internal shoulder 155 to enaage the lower end of the member 15.

hiftably mounted in the member 18 is a clamping means comprising, in this' instance, slips 36 that may be rovided on their inner faces with teeth 37. he slips 3S are wedgeslia e and slide within the internally bevele bearing member 18 which thus constitutes wedgin means, the bevel being downwardiy and inwardly as indicated at 38 so that, as the slips 36 descend, they are wedged inwardly into engagement with the drill pipe that is to be cut.

Interengaging guides are provided on the slips 3G and member 18 and such guides are formed, in 'this instance, 'of longitudinal grooves 40 on the inner face of the member 18 and longitudinal tongues 41 on the outer faces of the slips 36. The grooves and tongues are preferably dovetailed, as shown.

ln practice, when it is desired to cut a string of drill pipe in the well, the tool with the shearing pins 28 in place will be lowered over the drill stem by means of the tubing 23 to approximately the level at which the drill pipe is to be cut. Then the tool will be raised to cause the slips 36 to be wedged tightly against the drill pipe so as to hold the member 15 stationary, and thus eiTect shearing of the pins 28 and thus release the body 13 from the member 15, whereupon the member 15 will descend, causing the cam` faces 16 to wedge the cutter blades 11 in wardly into engagement with the drill ipe Z2. The tubing 23 will then be lowere to position the cutter blades 11 at any desired evel below that at which the shearin of the pins 28 was effected. Then the tu ing 23 will be raised so as to wedge the slips 36 in# wardly against the pipe, as in Fig. 1, thus holding the member 15 stationary so that the cutter blades 11 will be forced with suiiicient pressure against the drill pipe for the cutting operation. Then the tubing 23 will be rotated by any of the usual mechanisms employed :for such purpose, so as to cause the cutter blades 11 to cut the drill pipe. The cutter blades l1 will'be forced further and further inwardly, as the depth of the cut increases, by slightly raisin the tubing 23, to thereby cause thel cam aces of the slots 16 to wedge the cutter blades inwardly.

After the cutting operation has been com- Ipleted, the tubing 23 will be withdrawn from the well andV with it the body 13 and its associated parts, and, since the slips 36 firmly clamp the cut-off section of the drill pipe, this withdrawing movement causes said cutoff section, or fish as it is commonly termed in this art, to be raised at the same time until the upper end Vof said fish i's above the top of the well, whereupon the fish will be hoisted out of the well. If it be necessary'to remove more of the drill stem, the tool will be lowered again to make another cut and then raised to elevate the fish. Thus the cutting operations and raising of the cut 0H sections of the drill pipe will be continued until the well is cleared of the same, or as much of it as it is desirable to remove.

It is to be especially noted that, when the cutter' blades are collapsed, they are approximately in vertical position or parallel with the pipe that is to be cut, thus occupying much less radial space than when in cutting osition and enabling the tool to be inserted in a casing of much smaller diameter, relative to the diameter of the drill pipe, than is possible with the tool disclosed in the above identified Letters Patent.

When the shearing pins 28 are uncut, the screws 153 engage the bottom walls of the slots 154, thus preventing sbearin of said pins in event of projections on the idrill pipe catching and tending to hold the member 15 during downward travel of the tool.

In the above description, the tubular members 13, 15 are seen to be relatively movable, the cutter blades are oscillative from collapsed position into cutting position by relative movement between the members 13, 15 to cut the pipe, and the slips 36 engage the drill .i

pipe and hold the member 15 against uplil wedge the slips into engagement with the pipe and connected with the blade-actuatin member and operating to prevent upwar movement of the blade-actuating member when the body is raised.

2. A tool of the character described comprising a tubular body adapted to slip over a pipe, slips inside of the body, means oper- P ated by upward movement of the body to force the slips into enga ement with the pipe and means to therea er cut the pipe below the slips.

3. A tool of the character described comprising a tubular body adapted to slip over a pipe, means to engage and positively grip a pipe at any portion of its length, and means operatable by relative movement between the body and pipe-engaging means.`

when the pipe is engaged bv said means to cut the pipe below the pipe-engaging means.

Il. A tool of the character described comprisinga tubular body, a cutter blade movably mounted in the tubular body, cutter blade-engaging means to move the cutter blades into engagement with the pipe, a shear pin connecting the body and said means, and a slip operable by upward movement of the tubular body to engage the pipe and hold the cutter blade-engaging means against upward movement.

5. tool of the character described comprising a. tubular body, a cutter blade movably mounted in the tubular bod cutter blade-engaging means to operate t e cutter blade into engagement with the pipe, means releasable by movin the tubular member when the cutter bla e-engaging means are A held to hold said last means from operating the cutter blade,- and a slip operable by upv ward movement of the tubular body toengage the pipe exteriorly and hold. the cutter blade-engaging means against upward movement.

6. A tool of the character described comprising tubular members one inside of the other, a cutter blade movably mounted on one of the tubular members and operable by longitudinal movement thereof in one direction to eect movement of the cutter blade relative to said member, slips, wedging means for the slips connected with the other tubular member and operating on downward movement of the slips relative to the wed ing means to engage the pipe that is to e cut, and yielding means tending to prevent longitudinal movement of the irst mentioned tubular member relative to the second mentioned tubular member.

7. A tool of the character described comrising tubular members one inside of the other, a cutter blade movably mounted on one of the tubular members and operable by longitudinal movement thereof in one direction to eect movement of the cutter blade relative to said member, slips, wedging means for the slips rotatably connected with the other tubular member and operating on downward movement of the slips relative to the wedging means to engage the pipe that is to be cut, and yielding means tendin to prevent longitudinal movement of the rst mentioned tubular member relative to the second mentioned tubular member.A

8. A tool of the character described comprising tubularmembers one inside of the other, a cutter blade movably mounted on one of the tubular members and operable by longitudinal movement thereof in one direction to edect movement of the cutter blade relative to said member, slips, wedging means for the slips connected with one of the tubular members and operatlng on downward movement of the slips relative to the wedging means to engage the p1pe that is to be cut, and yielding means tendmg to, prevent longitudinal movement between the tubular members.

Signed at Los Angeles, Calif., this 15 day of January, 1925.

JOHN B. REILLY. CHARLES H. STONE. 

